The Media
by a happy bibliophile
Summary: Spoilers up to Unexpected. AU. Based on the scene between Nathan and Simone in Unexpected and the last scene of the episode. Pure speculation involving the media. Should the mass population find out about the Heroes or not? Chapter 5 up. On HOld
1. What if

Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or anything to do with Heroes. They belong to whoever they belong...I think it's NBC. No copyright infringement is intended.

Spoilers from Genesis to Unexpected.

Here goes...

Nathan stared hard at the closed door. She wouldn't, he thought...hoped. Then again...

The thought wouldn't leave him be. He sat at his desk, chin on a fist. If she can't get him to prove it...she'll go to Isaac...

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Dianne looked up from her desk to see Simone approach her. "Simone! What can I do for you?"

Dianne watched on curiously as several emotions - uncertainty, worry, maybe doubt - crossed her face before she said, "Do you think it's possible for you to do a report on ... It's rather complicated."

Dianne looked over at her stack of papers and thought of the monotony of it all. What the heck...if Simone can't quite explain it...it must be pretty big. "Just start from the beginning." And she told her...about Isaac's paintings, Peter's abilities, Hiro seeing the future, and New York's impending doom. When she paused, Dianne asked her, "Is that it? I mean, I know you're not lying, but I don't know if there's much of a story to it...except for the thing about New York blowing up. My boss probably isn't gonna let this air."

"People need to know, Dianne. Every single one of Isaac's paintings have come true so far. Some of the things they can do - it's beyond belief," Simone attempted to persuade her. In a sort of last ditch effort, she added, "Maybe your boss might like this - Peter - Peter Petrelli - thinks he's going to be the bomb. His brother - "

"Nathan Petrelli?" Dianne said hopefully.

Simone nodded. "Nathan doesn't want anyone to know what they can do. I mean, I can see how this may look bad, but come on... if people are told, there won't be a district for him to represent."

Dianne absently nodded, the thought of a Petrelli story flashing through her mind. "Do you think Nathan Petrelli would want to be interviewed on this?"

"I just asked him to and he flat out refused," Simone said. "Peter's disappeared, Hiro's in Las Vegas looking for the sword...Isaac...I can ask him to paint the future and you can watch it happen."

"I'll do you one better," Dianne said. "If this is all true...it's one hell of a story, but if this is all true...I think it should be caught on tape. Some people won't believe it until they see it. You know how stubborn people can be."

-

Nathan hopped out of the cab, handing his fare over to the driver. He was just in time - Simone and Dianne were getting out of the car along with a cameraman. Dianne spotted him first and a happy thoughts raced around her mind. "Roll the camera," she said to Ron, her cameraman.

"Simone!" He shouted. He walked up to her and pulled her away from the other two. In a low voice, he said, "Simone, you can't do this... Just think about it. Have you even asked Peter or Isaac or even Hiro if they wanted people to know what they can do?"

"Even if I did, it wouldn't matter, Nathan." Simone shrugged her arm out of Nathan's grasp. "The people of New York at least needs to be warned about what's gonna happen in less than two weeks." With that, she walked away from him towards Isaac's loft.

Nathan's jaw hardened and he was about to follow her, but Dianne stepped in. "Mr. Petrelli? Dianne Morrow, from the local news channel. What is your involvement with the impending exlposion that is to occur after election day?"

Nathan went numb. His face automatically became a stony grin. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dianne twitched a bit. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about - " Before Dianne could finish her sentence two shots rang out from the loft.

Then someone yelled, "Simone!"

All three ran up to the loft and saw Simone lying in Peter's arms. Isaac was near paralyzed - overcome with guilt.

"What the hell happened?" Nathan demanded. "What are you waiting for? Someone call an ambulance already." He took his own order and began dialing 911. Before he could finish, Peter snatched his phone away. "What are you doing, Peter?"

"I - I think I can change this...," Peter began to laugh nervously. "This doesn't have to have happened."

"Peter, get it through your head," Nathan snatched his phone back. "You can't change what happened."

"But I can, and I will." Before anyone could understand what he meant, Peter disappeared and something happened. No one could say for sure what did, but they all felt - deep into their core.

"Are you getting this, Ron?" Dianne chanced a whisper. The cameraman nodded.

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Yup... made absolutely no sense at all.


	2. Peter's choice

The Media Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Heroes does not belong to me. There is no plot. Just whatever comes out.

A/N: And erm...thanks for reviewing?

-sigh- Show...don't tell... so... that explains this chapter...

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Everything was frozen. The bullets hung there in mid-air, waiting for Peter to choose. With every step toward them he took, he grew more and more uncertain of his actions.

"Think about it carefully, Peter."

Peter froze. He thought he'd frozen everyone, including his other self. He turned around. Hiro - the Hiro from the subway - came and stood next to Peter, who laughed bitterly. "What's there to think about, Hiro? I can change it. She doesn't have to die."

"That's not the only thing that would change," Hiro said. "You told me that when you looked back on this moment, it helped you to realize the weight and enormity of the responsibilites of having our abilities. The choice that you made helped to define who you were, who you will be."

"Are you saing that I should just let her die?!" Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was supposed to be a hero - and that meant saving lives.

"No, Peter," Hiro said. He thought long and hard before speaking again. "What is a wold without consequences? We learn more from making mistakes than from being perfect. We're all human, no matter what our abilities and that includes our ability to make mistakes. Once it happens, we can choose to learn from them or not - it is our choice. If you take the mistakes away, how would we all learn? You might have Simone back, but what about Isaac?"

"What about him? He's the reason she died," the instant he said it, Peter knew he was wrong. He did not pull the trigger, but he was just as guilty. If only he hadn't confronted Isaac like that... If only he hadn't been invisible... If only...

Hiro watched the thought process register across Peter's face and nodded. "You would remember the ache of loosing her and what could have happened, but not Isaac. Isaac would not understand what had come to pass, because what had happened never really did. It wasn't all his fault. He was being misled by the organization that tried to kidnap you and your friend."

"I don't suppose you can tell me much about it, can you?" Peter said.

"Not much," Hiro agreed. "But keep an eye your brother. You and he are the key to the future. You must work together. You have a dream of hope, and he can make it happen."

"What does that mean? C'mon, Hiro, we have all the time in the world. Can't you tell me more? Or at least how it all ends."

Hiro shook his head. "It's the journey that's important, otherwise the destination has no meaning. Remember, our choices help make who we are." And with that, he left Peter in the company of his recent past to face his choice.


	3. ClipClop, who's there?

The Media Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Heroes does not belong to me.

A/N: I'm assuming Isaac's loft is not on the first floor. looks up

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Peter reappeared beside Nathan, who was startled. "Jeez, Peter, isn't there a way for you to warn me before you do your disappearing act? Anyway, the ambulance is on it's way." Nathan lowered his voice and said, "I thought you said you could change it. What happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Fine by me, cuz we've got bigger problems. I just realized after you left that the reporter and her cameraman managed to film you disappearing. I can probably find a way to spin it - you know, special effects - and try to keep them from saying anything, but we gotta get the tape before it can do any damage."

Peter looked at the cameraman, who was videotaping Isaac's paintings.

"So these are some of the paintings that came true," Dianne was interviewing Isaac, pointing to the painting of a burning bus in Israel and the train wreck in Odessa. Then she gestured towards the mural on the floor. "And this is what's going to happen."

Isaac nodded. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but he caught Peter's eye and began to censor himself. "Yes, that's what's going to happen. We're trying to find a way to stop it from happening."

"We?" Dianne prompted. "From what I gathered, are you talking about others that have abilities, like you?" The cameraman had now swung back to tape Isaac and Dianne.

"Uh... yeah. Hiro accidentally teleported himself into the future and saw the explosion. He said he looked at the newspaper and said that the date was November 8."

"The day after the elections," Dianne watched Nathan to see if he reacted, and she was not disappointed. Turning back to Isaac, she asked him, "Did he tell you the results of the election?"

"No," Isaac shrugged. "Look, um. Can I have a moment?"

Dianne sighed and consented before turning to Nathan. "Mr. Petrelli, what's your say in all of this?"

He looked at her seriously. "You're not going to air that tape."

Dianne smirked. "Why not? The public deserves to know what's going on. People who can paint the future, travel through time and space, fly? This is incredible. It's like a page out of a comic book. Not only should the public know, but you guys have the responsibility to warn them of what's going to happen." She gestured to the mural of New York blowing up for emphasis.

"Maybe she's right, Nathan," Peter said. "Maybe people are meant to know what we can do. It'll be a lot easier if people understand. What good can come of us hiding the truth? Besides, they've got clips of Simone, Isaac, and me. The police will arrest Isaac for murder, and the tape's evi-"

Several shots rang out. The glass shattered and everyone ducked for cover. A moment of silence passed and footsteps approached the door to the loft. They stopped at the door. Everyone gave each other uncertain looks. Nathan peered from behind an overturned table - he was closest to the door. He couldn't see anything, so he edged closer to the door. Peter tried to motion for Nathan to stay where he was but Nathan either didn't see or just ignored him.

Dianne urged Ron forward towards the door, wanting to get some good footage of whatever it was to come.

A hand shattered what was left of the door and grabbed Nathan by his shirt and threw him out of the loft and over the balcony.

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-sigh- okay...this is starting to become predictable and boring. Suggestions anyone?


	4. Stop!

Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes. Characters belong to their respective owners.

A/N: The plot has yet to arrive, if there is any. Thanks for reviewing for those who reviewed. I was half asleep when I wrote chapters 2 and 3, and well...you read it and there's a billion things going on and it looks interesting, but take it apart and go over it many times and wonder if it's good enough... it starts to look inferior in content and quality in comparison with some of the stories here. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to look at this... I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed watching this unfold in my mind.

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"NATHAN!" Peter ran after his brother and got the wind kicked out of him. "Oof!" He looked up at the figure standing over him. She was fairly tall, with blond hair and a look that showed that she enjoyed doing what she did.

"Hm...he didn't tell me about you," she said. Seeing as he was no immediate threat, she left him to pick himself up while she looked over the edge of the balcony. "Now where did he go?"

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"Depends on who you talk to, kid," she said, searching the ground for any sign of Nathan.

---

Isaac swallowed hard as he thought about Hiro telling him that his head had been cut off in the future, so it was no surprise that he decided to get out of there as fast as he could. He made his way over to a window along another side of the building, opened it and jumped over the ledge onto the fire escape.

Dianne took note and decided to take Isaac's lead. "I think we've got more than enough," she whispered to Ron. "Let's get out of here." Ron nodded eagerly and followed Dianne to the fire escape.

"Where's my brother?" Nathan whispered behind her as she carefully climbed over the ledge.

She gasped and nearly lost her balance on the ledge. "How'd you get here? I thought you were a goner!"

"I thought you already knew about it," he smirked before pushing his way past her and her stunned cameraman into the loft. He carefully peered around the door and was surprised to see his brother fighting with a woman he had hoped to never see again. He was shocked when he saw his brother suspended her by an ankle over the balcony.

"Peter! What are you doing?" Nathan tried to pull Jessica back over to their side of the balcony, but his brother's grip was a lot stronger than he'd realized. "What's gotten into you?"

"She tried to kill you, Nathan," Peter said through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen again." He let her go. Nathan had a good grip on her, but she was still heavy enough to drag him over the edge as well.

---

Isaac watched the reporter and her cameraman round the corner to the front of the building - either to tape some more or get themselves as far away as possible. He was starting to have second thoughts about people knowing what they were capable of - the things they can do. He wanted to help warn everyone - that was what Simone tried to do - but another part of him told him that if word got out, if people saw the truth, he couldn't help but think of the fear people might feel. And just like the fear he had felt when he saw Peter, he was worried people might want them locked away.

He pulled out his cell phone with shaking hands and began dialing.

---

"Well, that would explain how he got around so fast." Dianne stared at the two bodies struggling in midair. Ron had begun taping again.

Nathan glared into the camera as he carefully lowered both himself and Jessica towards the ground. His brother was already on the ground and it wasn't looking good. Peter approached Dianne and Ron with a calm that unnerved Nathan. It took the two a while to realize that Peter wasn't there to help them - quite the opposite - and they felt that had better leave. Nathan felt caught in between several situations, weighing which should take precedence - a woman who tried to kill him, his brother was not himself, and a tape that threatened not only his career, but his life.

He looked long and hard at Jessica and said, "What happened to the person I'd met? I thought you wanted to be someone strong, someone good. What about being there for your son?" A different look stole over her cold eyes - and he saw the person he had met in Vegas. He glanced back and hoped Peter wouldn't do anything drastic and damaging. "Look, I know that I don't know you well, but you can't be that angry with me. I'm not going to press charges against you, so long as you leave myself and my family alone. Alright?" Nathan said quickly. She nodded. "Good," he said and started towards his brother, when she grabbed his hand.

"Wait," Niki said. "I need help. You're like me - I can't control it."

A look of uncertainty crossed his face. "Later, I promise," Nathan said, and jogged over to Peter.

"Peter. Peter, what's wrong with you?" Nathan grabbed Peter's shoulder and spun him around. It was the eyes. Something about Peter's eyes was different. He couldn't quite place it, but it was there - like a strand of hair out of place.

"I'm finally starting to understand what I'm supposed to do, Nathan," Peter said, his voice full of power and a different kind of strength Nathan wasn't used to. It sounded positively menacing. "But first, I've got to make sure that tape doesn't reach the nearest T.V. station. Wouldn't want the wrong sort of people finding out about us now, would we. "

"Peter, this isn't like you," Nathan said. "Just a moment ago, you were all for the world knowing. What changed your mind?"

Peter's face began twisting itself, as if he was struggling with some unknown force. "I don't know... since when did I get down here?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Nathan raised a brow. "You looked ready to steamroll over whatever was in front of you."

"It happens to you, too?" Niki had been listening to the exchange and ventured to ask the question, "Like sudden blackouts and you're somewhere different." Maybe they might know someone who could help.

"Yeah, well, no. This is the first time it's happened," Peter looked at her with interest. "What is it that you do?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Niki said.

"If you want, there's this guy I know..."

Nathan turned away from the conversation and turned to see where the reporter and her cameraman were up to.

They were no where in sight and the ambulance could be heard screaming towards them from a distance.

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2nd A/N:

Warning: Ranting ahead:

Argh! This makes it sound like they're all out of character! I couldn't figure out what to do with Nathan when he was caught in between three different situations. And then with Jessica trying to kill him. I know, I know... he let her off too easily, but I honestly don't know what to do with it. We all know she goes after him, but we don't know what his intent is. I'm trying to keep it up with the plotline in the show as much as possible. The first chapter was the easiest to write because it was just the starting point... you know, like how an infinite number of lines can be drawn at one point, but only one straight line can go through two points. I have the hardest time writing drama, cuz whatever it is that I write usually ends up turning into comedy. I hope I got all the spelling and grammar right. I did this on wordpad and there's no spell check on it.

End of Rant.

This coming week I'm pretty busy with homework, two midterms and a quiz, so I don't know if I'm gonna be able to write as much as I did. This is the first time I've ever wrote a multi-chaptered fanfiction, and it looks like people are actually reading this/taking some sort of interest in it, so I'll do my best to write in between studying and classes to keep the ball rolling. Oh, one more thing...are the chapters too short, too long, or is it just right?


	5. Walk in and Run out

Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes. The characters belong to their respective owners.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. As per request, I've tried to make the chapter a little longer. The way it played out in my head, it was more comical than I intended. I actually thought about someone locking Isaac up in the trunk of the car and that's when I realized that I would've gone over the top, so I edited that out.

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"Ron! What's the matter with you?" Dianne looked at him worriedly. He was weaving in and out of traffic like a madman. "You're gonna kill us!"

"Dianne...," he said shakily. "Don't you get it? Didn't you see what they did to your friend? They killed her! Now that we've got clips of them doing...things, they'll come and kill us!"

"They-they don't look like they're murderers," Dianne was trying not to get sucked into Ron's way of thinking, but a seed of doubt began to sporut and Ron's paranoia was like a fertile patch of soil in the tropics. Ron was as stubborn as he was a good cameraman, and it was very unfortunate that he was very afraid for his life.

"That guy, Peter," he ranted. "He didn't look to happy before we left, and that chick threw his brother over the balcony. If this tape get's out, they'll kill us!"

Dianne sighed. "According to the mural of New York getting vaporized, we're gonna be dead anyways," Dianne said grimly. "If we go out, we could at least end our careers in a flame of glory. Besides, I think it's safer to air that video. If everyone's going to be as crazy and paranoid as you, the government would be responsible for keeping us all safe."

After a moment of silence as Ron pulled their car into into the T.V. station's parking lot, he said, "I knew I should've taken that vacation."

Dianne ignored the statement. "I want that tape to be ready by this evening's news report."

"If we live until this evening's news report," Ron muttered.

"Even if they wanted to, no one can just walk into a T.V. station and murder people in the middle of the afternoon."

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"Maybe it's just destiny, Nathan," Peter mumbled from the backseat. "Maybe people are supposed to find out about us."

"No, they're not. Just think about what might happen, Peter. Realistically - what might happen?" Nathan gripped the steering whel so hard his knuckles were turning white. A crazy gibberish-speaking bum stepped out onto the road and Nathan swerved to avoid him.

"Hey, watch where you're driving," Niki shouted at him from the passenger seat. "This is a rental. I don't want to explain why it's got dents and scratches when I return it."

"You should've gotten a Nissan Versa," Peter joked.

"Some Asian guy got the last one."

Nathan held up a hand and pointed at Niki. "Come to think of it, what are you doing here. I mean, other than try to kill me."

"Mr. Linderman wanted to create give you a boost in the polls. That tape has exactly what he wants the public to see, well, parts of it."

"Then you'll find yourself in jail for attempted murder," Nathan argued. "They managed to get your face."

"Not if it gets edited just right," Niki said. "Unless you want me try to shoot you again."

That silenced Nathan for a beat. "I just don't think people seeing any part of that tape is a good idea."

"Okay, you guys, that's enough," Peter leaned forward between them. "We'll go in, get the tape, and then figure out what to do with it."

"We burn it," Nathan said the same time Niki said, "We edit it."

"We can't do either until we get it first." Peter said as Nathan pulled into a parking space across the street from the T.V. station.

Nathan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Have we even thought about how we're gonna get it back? I mean we can't just barge in there."

They all looked at each other and Peter spoke up. "I can get the tape. Just wait here." Halfway through the last sentence, Peter began to fade out from Nathan and Niki's view. They heard footsteps walk away from them and then nothing.

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Peter walked into through the doors and realized that he had no idea where the tape would even be. He went around all the rooms, and did his best to avoid running into people. After fifteen minutes of mindless searching, he began wondering if there was some sort of directory somewhere. He was about to head over to it when he saw Ron come out of the men's room. Peter followed Ron to the editing room where they were surprisingly the only ones.

He looked at all the equipment that were being used and couldn't help feeling helpless. Peter didn't even know where to begin and if he tried messing around with the equipment, Ron would know that he was there. In the end, he settled for watching Ron go over the clips, cutting them and rearranging them. Unfortunately for them, all that was edited out was Simone's dead body. They had managed to capture on the film him disappearing and reappearing, the Isaac's painting, and Nathan getting thrown over the balcony and flying.

Ron finished it all up in a couple of hours and Peter was ready to grab it.

A disk popped out and that was all Peter needed. He grabbed it and ran as fast as he could.

"Hey!" He heard Ron yell after him.

Ron sat back down as realization dawned, his hands shaking. "Oh, my God," he breathed. "He could have killed me."

"Ron?" He heard Dianne shouting for him. Seconds later, she was at the door. "What happened?"

"One of them was here. I think it was that Peter guy. I couldn't see him. One minute the disk is popping out of the drive and the next thing I know, it's gone," Ron told her.

Her eyes widened with shock. "It's gone?"

"Yeah, he took the disk. Lucky for you, I always make digital and hard copies."

She hit him smack his arm. "Don't scare me like that, Ron!"

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"You guys! I got it!" Peter shouted. "Sorry it took so long, but...sorry." He held the disk up and both Nathan and Niki's hand reached for it. Before any of them could grab it, Peter held it away.

"Peter...," Nathan began threateningly.

"C'mon, kid, fork it over," Niki grabbed at it again.

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A/N: I'm still debating whether or not people will ever see that tape. You see, I'm just as much in the dark as everyone else is at this point. I'm just sitting here and thinking. It's only when I start thinking that I see it. Right now, there are two definite things that can happen. People see the tape or they don't. Should it happen or shouldn't it? I'm right in the middle. If they see it, it opens up a lot of possibilities. If they don't see it, then at least two of the characters are kinda screwed. Or I can make something completely random happen and people discover about their abilities anyway. I don't know yet. We'll see, we'll see...I could always just flip a coin. What do you all say?


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